Star

Oh, the bottle! It is exquisite, absolutely stunning, heavy, expensive looking, glamorous. Probably the prettiest bottle on my shelf. When it's empty, I will buy a fresh bottle and use this as a paperweight. It is a piece of art really. The juice is an equal love, love, love for me. It reminds me of very old paperbound books and a vintage leather sofa that has 40 years of soaked-in incense, or cigarette smoke maybe. I can't place it, but I know this smell. An old bookstore smell perhaps, dated paper pages and a sandstorm of gray dust. Weird, but that's a vibe I can't get enough of. Starts off dry and powdery thanks to the pineapple. The pineapple-fig combo at the top is to die for! More dry and powdery notes in the mid from the iris. Sweet gourmand, but has depth. You get the coconut and the lactonic quality, tempered with powder and you get the praline, a delicate sweetness under the powder. Leans mature to my nose, and it is quite sexy. Clearly there was a plan with the bottle design and the note pyramid with this scent, and it was executed close to perfection. My only gripe is I wish it had more powder and heavier woodiness in the base, but that is personal preference. Actually, if it contained a little smoke, some kind of toasted, burnt marshmallow note, that would have taken it over the top for me. With this one, the top notes and heart notes are heavier, and it simply dries down to a very soft, delicate, innocent girly vanilla. An inverted pyramid. I prefer frags that start out softer and become deeper and richer when they warm on the skin, ending up powdery, smokey or woody. The base does not quite ground this one. Normally I am not into vanilla in the warmer months, but this is the perfect Summer vanilla. The notes are tropical, but it has a cozy feeling. Many "tropical" perfumes lean sharp and the notes are high pitched or sour or too fruity, which I truly despise. Only wish this lasted longer, you need to overspray and then overspray again to build up to a sillage that leaves a trail. I have found that letting unscented body oil soak in before applying this improves longevity of the top and mid and intensifies the notes. However, it may be one of those which others can smell, even if you can't perceive the scent bubble around yourself. Does it smell like a $300 bottle - no. A bit synthetic, yes, but who can be mad at vanilla. I will buy this over and over. I'm smitten every time I wear it, like falling in love all over again. Yummy!

I decided to go on a limb and order this about the same time I ordered Elixir Pour Elle, more intrigued by the beautiful flacon than the notes, but still curious to try a scent whose heart seemed iris-dominant at a glance. This one’s a sleeper hit, and blended well to my nose. I asked a friend about the pineapple in the top because I couldn’t fully make it out, and she said it was there. Iris and vanilla dominate this perfume for me, and the iris is so cold that this fragrance is decidedly cool for me, but still delicious to smell and absolutely a cuddly perfume. I’d argue any warmth associated with this fragrance will come from the personality of the wearer. Even in the drydown, when iris has finally (but not fully) bowed to vanilla, I’d say this scent leans cool, in a refreshingly sweet way. Like the cool sweetness of a good whipped cream, or creme brûlée. It’s gentle and diffuse. A moderate sillage and a decent presence for about six to seven hours before it remains as a skin scent. But the base is tenacious, and lasts until you wash it off. If it matters, this fragrance can net you some compliments in the first few hours of wear, when the projection is most prominent. It’s a great daily wear scent—I’ll test it in the warmer months next year but I actually don’t think it’ll go sickly just because of how cool the composition leans. If you like cool vanilla scents with a powdery aspect so smooth it’s basically powdered silk then you’ll love this one. As far as it lives up to its name, it’s no supernova—it’s more like a reassuring North Star. But I think you’ll enchant anyone that falls into your orbit.

Gosh this stuff is good. TBH with the exception of the Mauboussin self-titled fragrance (which is too ghastly for words and I could not get rid of it fast enough) all the others I've bought from this brand have been great. So I sprung for this to treat myself and I am delighted as it is gorgeous. It's cosy and warm but without being too sweet and cloying. Personally I don't get the pineapple note, but that's of no consequence. It is soft and milky with a delicate smokiness that leans towards incense. There is also a hint of vanilla that offers a creaminess but without the cloying intensity of another favourite of mine, Lalique Le Parfum. Compared to my other Mauboussin fragrances, Star doesn't have as strong a projection on me, but that's okay as far as I'm concerned. There is a cosy, intimate aspect that is really appealing about this fragrance. My husband really likes it! I also own Une Histoire de Femme Sensuelle from Mauboussin, which I also love and thought I would do a side by side comparison. To me, they share some similarity so I thought it would be fun to compare. I'd never really noticed the distinctive rose note in Femme, but now that I sniff them side by side, the rose really stands out for me. Femme is playful and I often get compliments when I wear it, and Star feels like Femme grew up, moved out of home and got a real job! Also, can we talk about the bottle! OMG, it is beautiful and very giftable. The only thing that lets it down is that the lovely golden cap dented the sprayer on the one I bought, but given that I paid such a good price for it, I'm more than willing to live with that.

This is my second Mauboussin fragrance. The first one I bought and own is Une Histoire de Femme Sensuelle. Both of them have this praline note that is so irresistible to my nose, absolutely delicious. Thanks to that typical Mauboussin praline note I may give a chance to their other perfumes, too. To my nose this is the best praline note of all the praline notes I have encountered in my fragrance journey so far. Now, back to Star. This perfume is truly nice and remarkable. It starts of kind of smok-ish and sweet vanilla-like, there is a slight iris and woodsy note to it so the fragrance appears to be quite "serious" of a character (in this phase, it actually reminds me of Vanagloria by Laboratorio Olfattivo, which I love). It proceeds then to the phase of a sweet, lovely creamy pineapple/coconut combo. Recently I bought a pack of dried pineapple in Lidl and the scent that was left on my fingers is EXACTLY that one of Star. I mean, exactly. I was eating those pineapple pieces and I was wondering how come I can smell the Star on my fingers when I didn ́t even spray it on today? Then I realized... Sweet pineapple and coconut. It ́s so delicious. To me, this perfume is so interesting because the first phase I mentioned appears to be like a fall/winter evening perfume and then it changes to sweet, gourmand and almost tropical area. I am about to test its longevity and sillage properly but it appears to be quite good already. :) The bottle is nice and sturdy, quite unique looking. Highly recommended, this perfume.

What an absolute gem! Blind purchase but definitely a successful one. Star is a fabulous concoction of pineapple and tonka, these are the most prominent notes, with only a hint of iris and heliotrope detectable throughout. As the fragrance develops, you can sense the presence of a bitter sweet nutty praline coming through. This juice is most definitely on the unisex spectrum; I can definitely see it being worn by any gender. Very much appropriate for colder seasons, though if applied lightly I could envisage myself wearing it during warmer months on a night out. If you're a professional looking to mark your presence in a non offensive yet appropriate manner, this definitely is a juice to reach out for. It's been a love from first sniff for me and I love sharing it with my hubbie, who's also fond of it. Elegant, opulent, unique, it most certainly doesn't smell like tons of other fragrances available on the market. It will make you stand out from the crowd and you'll be surprised by the number of compliments coming through. Silage and longevity both on a great side; solid 6 hours and it's still very much detectable. Well done, Mauboussin. The bottle design and colour represents the fragrance gracefully. A definite keeper with a strong potential to become my signature juice.